Randal Schwartz used to frequently post "Useless use of (x)" on lists. One such post was about kill -9. It includes reasons and a recipe to follow. Here is a reconstructed versionHere is a reconstructed version (quoted below).
(Quote abomination)
No no no. Don't use kill -9.
It doesn't give the process a chance to cleanly:
shut down socket connections
clean up temp files
inform its children that it is going away
reset its terminal characteristics
and so on and so on and so on.
Generally, send 15, and wait a second or two, and if that doesn't work, send 2, and if that doesn't work, send 1. If that doesn't, REMOVE THE BINARY because the program is badly behaved!
Don't use kill -9. Don't bring out the combine harvester just to tidy up the flower pot.
Just another Useless Use of Usenet,
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